Funeral director didn’t plan to join business

Favorite job as teen was driving the ambulance

Published: Monday, July 16, 2012 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 10:58 p.m.

An early thrill for Thomas R. Shepherd as a teenager working for his father, Thomas Shepherd, at Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Home was driving the hearse/ambulance and turning the siren on.

“When I became 16, I drove the ambulance,” the younger Shepherd said. “Those days, the funeral homes drove the ambulance. The hearse manufacturing companies created them in combination. The interior of the vehicles could be changed to be used as a hearse or an ambulance.”

Church Street at that time was a two-way street, and he would go flying down the rolling hills with the siren blaring.

At first, Thomas R. Shepherd didn’t want to go into the family business, but with the unexpected death of his father at 52 from a heart attack, his plans changed drastically.

“My mother and I had a powwow about the funeral home,” he said. “She paid the bills, answered the phone and bookkeeped.”

As the only son, he joined the business.

Birth of a funeral home

The funeral home was once a general/furniture store in 1903 on the southeastern corner of First Avenue and Main Street, which sold caskets on the side. It was owned by his grandfather, Thomas Shepherd’s, brother, M.M. Shepherd and F.V. Hart.

“It was very typical of them (caskets) to be part of a furniture store,” Thomas R. Shepherd said.

His grandfather started working in the store in his early 20s as a manager. Thomas Shepherd got interested in the funeral side of the business and went to embalming school in Cincinnati in 1905.

In 1924, Thomas Shepherd bought out his brother’s interest in the store and expanded the business. He built the funeral home at its current location at 125 S. Church St. The chapel was added in 1940, and the front portion in 1950.

Shepherd Memorial Park on Asheville Highway was added in 1954. The first crematorium in the Carolinas was added at the Memorial Park in 1970. A selection room and garages were added in 1981, and the building was remodeled in 2008.

William Shepherd, Thomas R. Shepherd’s father, joined the business in the 1930s.

“He was attending the Citadel,” Thomas R. Shepherd recalled. “He was in love with a gal whose family had a summertime home up here. Daddy was so madly in love, he didn’t want to go back to the Citadel. So, he went to Cincinnati for six months.”

William Shepherd married his love, Ida. He then joined the family business full-time. William Shepherd started managing the business after his father suffered a series of strokes in the late 1930s. Thomas Shepherd died in 1940 and his wife, Florence Shepherd, inherited the business while William Shepherd continued to manage.

During World War II, William Shepherd was exempted by the draft board because he was the only licensed embalmer in town.

In the late 1940s, when the bodies of Henderson County men killed in action arrived home by train at the depot on Seventh Avenue, William Shepherd and Hubert Barnett would arrive at the station in the funeral home’s Army surplus Jeep to meet the heroes. The local Honor Guard would come with other members of the community, and each returning service member was escorted with a mini parade to the funeral home.

Part of the community

Thomas R. Shepherd has been in the funeral business since he was 14. He started putting up tents, washing cars and working in the yard during the summertime.

He wanted to become a dentist until organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry stumped him at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. So instead, he decided to go to law school. But his plans drastically changed when his father suddenly died in September 1965 from a heart attack.

“Funeral service is probably a peculiar sort of calling, because there’s really nothing you can compare it to,” Thomas R. Shepherd said.

“The most important thing is you get a certain sense of satisfaction knowing that you’re in a position to help someone at a difficult point in their life.”

Thomas R. Shepherd and his wife, Melody Shepherd, still run the business from its location on Church Street. The funeral home serves 600 families per year.

They often face questions about the line of work they have chosen.

“When people ask me how we can do that every day, I say, how can you not do that every day?” Melody Shepherd said. “You’re helping somebody at the most difficult time. Everybody doesn’t have the luxury of having pre-planned. And everything isn’t always set out the way they thought it should be.”

“You’re with them every step of the way, helping them and guiding them,” she added. “And you’re protecting them.”

Thomas R. Shepherd added that they do get emotionally involved when helping families plan after a death.

<p>An early thrill for Thomas R. Shepherd as a teenager working for his father, Thomas Shepherd, at Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Home was driving the hearse/ambulance and turning the siren on.</p><p>When I became 16, I drove the ambulance, the younger Shepherd said. Those days, the funeral homes drove the ambulance. The hearse manufacturing companies created them in combination. The interior of the vehicles could be changed to be used as a hearse or an ambulance.</p><p>Church Street at that time was a two-way street, and he would go flying down the rolling hills with the siren blaring.</p><p>At first, Thomas R. Shepherd didn’t want to go into the family business, but with the unexpected death of his father at 52 from a heart attack, his plans changed drastically.</p><p>My mother and I had a powwow about the funeral home, he said. She paid the bills, answered the phone and bookkeeped.</p><p>As the only son, he joined the business.</p><h3>Birth of a funeral home</h3>
<p>The funeral home was once a general/furniture store in 1903 on the southeastern corner of First Avenue and Main Street, which sold caskets on the side. It was owned by his grandfather, Thomas Shepherd’s, brother, M.M. Shepherd and F.V. Hart.</p><p>It was very typical of them (caskets) to be part of a furniture store, Thomas R. Shepherd said.</p><p>His grandfather started working in the store in his early 20s as a manager. Thomas Shepherd got interested in the funeral side of the business and went to embalming school in Cincinnati in 1905.</p><p>In 1924, Thomas Shepherd bought out his brother’s interest in the store and expanded the business. He built the funeral home at its current location at 125 S. Church St. The chapel was added in 1940, and the front portion in 1950.</p><p>Shepherd Memorial Park on Asheville Highway was added in 1954. The first crematorium in the Carolinas was added at the Memorial Park in 1970. A selection room and garages were added in 1981, and the building was remodeled in 2008.</p><p>William Shepherd, Thomas R. Shepherd’s father, joined the business in the 1930s.</p><p>He was attending the Citadel, Thomas R. Shepherd recalled. He was in love with a gal whose family had a summertime home up here. Daddy was so madly in love, he didn’t want to go back to the Citadel. So, he went to Cincinnati for six months.</p><p>William Shepherd married his love, Ida. He then joined the family business full-time. William Shepherd started managing the business after his father suffered a series of strokes in the late 1930s. Thomas Shepherd died in 1940 and his wife, Florence Shepherd, inherited the business while William Shepherd continued to manage.</p><p>During World War II, William Shepherd was exempted by the draft board because he was the only licensed embalmer in town.</p><p>In the late 1940s, when the bodies of Henderson County men killed in action arrived home by train at the depot on Seventh Avenue, William Shepherd and Hubert Barnett would arrive at the station in the funeral home’s Army surplus Jeep to meet the heroes. The local Honor Guard would come with other members of the community, and each returning service member was escorted with a mini parade to the funeral home.</p><h3>Part of the community</h3>
<p>Thomas R. Shepherd has been in the funeral business since he was 14. He started putting up tents, washing cars and working in the yard during the summertime.</p><p>He wanted to become a dentist until organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry stumped him at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. So instead, he decided to go to law school. But his plans drastically changed when his father suddenly died in September 1965 from a heart attack.</p><p>Funeral service is probably a peculiar sort of calling, because there’s really nothing you can compare it to, Thomas R. Shepherd said.</p><p>The most important thing is you get a certain sense of satisfaction knowing that you’re in a position to help someone at a difficult point in their life.</p><p>Thomas R. Shepherd and his wife, Melody Shepherd, still run the business from its location on Church Street. The funeral home serves 600 families per year.</p><p>They often face questions about the line of work they have chosen.</p><p>When people ask me how we can do that every day, I say, how can you not do that every day? Melody Shepherd said. You’re helping somebody at the most difficult time. Everybody doesn’t have the luxury of having pre-planned. And everything isn’t always set out the way they thought it should be.</p><p>You’re with them every step of the way, helping them and guiding them, she added. And you’re protecting them.</p><p>Thomas R. Shepherd added that they do get emotionally involved when helping families plan after a death.</p><p>You cry with them and you laugh with them, Melody Shepherd said.</p>